Size advantage helps Trinity girls top Loyola

Size advantage helps Trinity girls top Loyola

It was the kind of game where everyone seemed to contribute for No. 4 Trinity.

The Blazers owned the height advantage over No. 19 Loyola and led pretty much everywhere else on the court in a 51-29 rout Friday in the Suburban Holiday Showcase at Trinity, with the game never being close.

Trinity did not score in the final quarter while missing all six of its shots.

Loyola scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Ramblers (11-3, 3-1) had 17 points through three quarters. Trinity (11-1, 4-0) limited Loyola to one basket during an 11 12-minute span in the game which lasted the entire second quarter and portions of the first and third quarters. The teams played their third tournament game, but Fridays matchup counted as a GCAC Red contest.

DePaul-bound Megan Podkowa, a 6-foot-1 senior, led Trinity with 17 points and nine rebounds. But the eight points each from 6-0 starter Alyssa Dengler and 6-1 reserve Victoria Harris (seven rebounds) made a big difference.

All of Trinitys first eight players to enter the game scored.

It felt really good, Harris said. I was able to help coming off the bench. I knew it would be a tough game either way. We were ready to get in there.

The Ramblers had no other players to combat Trinity inside and had one of their worst shooting performances of the season from the outside. Loyola shot 5-of-37 through the first three quarters.

Trinitys quick at all positions, Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. Obviously, with Megan inside, she gets other players on the team open shots. You have to collapse on her. Give Trinity credit, they got open shots.

Trinity outrebounded the Ramblers 22-12 in the first half. Reserve Mary Katherine OMalley led Loyola with eight points, all in the second half. Anna Scheuler had all five of her points in the first half.

The Blazers led 17-11 early in the second quarter and then scored 12 consecutive points. Trinity ended the quarter with a 16-1 run to lead 33-12 at the half.

Loyola will play No. 18 Proviso East (12-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Stevenson, followed by Trinity against No. 13 Niles West at 7:30 p.m.

On Dec. 28 at Loyola, Niles West plays the host Ramblers at 6 p.m. and the final game of the tournament features Trinity vs. Proviso East at 7:30 p.m.

Three Things to Watch: Bulls-76ers

NBC Sports Chicago

Three Things to Watch: Bulls-76ers

The Bulls square off against the Sixers tonight on NBC Sports Chicago, with coverage beginning at 6:30 with Bulls Pregame Live. Here are three things to watch as the Bulls begin the stretch run of their regular season.

1. The new rotation: Most of the Bulls’ rotation looks the same, but the addition of David Nwaba, Cristiano Felicio and Cameron Payne will have a different feel. The Bulls clearly want to get a look at these guys before the end of the regular season, meaning they’re not just going to get sporadic minutes. They’ll have to play through their mistakes, play out-matched at times and be put in uncomfortable situations. But the Bulls need to see what they have, especially in Payne, who has missed the entire season to this point with a broken foot.

2. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons: They’re quite the 1-2 punch and have the Sixers looking at their first playoff appearance since Derrick Rose hadn’t yet torn an ACL. Yeah, that’s a long time. Embiid just finished his first All-Star appearance (starting in his second year) and Simmons is the front runner for Rookie of the Year. The Bulls will have their hands full with these two. Luckily…

3. Kris Dunn is back: The Bulls wanted to get Dunn some run before heading to All-Star Weekend to play in the Rising Stars Challenge, and he looked healthy in that thumping against the Raptors last week. The good news is John Paxson says Dunn won’t be on a minutes limit, which means he’s healthy. That, of course, is more important than how he’s playing. It’ll be fun to see him, LaVine and Markkanen play together down the stretch. Their numbers together aren’t great, but the Bulls are 2-2 with all three in the lineup, and tanking or not…it’s more fun to watch when those three are rolling.

Blackhawks edge out Senators in shootout: 'It was really nice to get a win'

Blackhawks edge out Senators in shootout: 'It was really nice to get a win'

It was a rare sight to see the Blackhawks in a shootout on Wednesday night.

It was just the second time this season — and first time at the United Center — that the Blackhawks made it past 3-on-3 overtime.

The last came on Dec. 2, 2017, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars in Dallas. On Wednesday night, the Blackhawks were on the other end, beating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in a seven-round shootout. Nick Schmaltz netted the game-winner.

"We'll take it," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we had a decent game tonight. Overtime not so good, I liked the shootout victory, Fors made some big saves for us particularly as the game got deeper. Our third was OK, I thought our first two were way better, and overtime we gave up some high quality, some bells were rings for a bit there. But it was nice to see the shootout win."

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, recording another multi-point game, his 16th of the season.

"I mean we need every point we can get at this point," Kane said. "There's still belief in this locker room. Obviously we need to go on quite a run and have a big record here down the stretch. But take it a game at a time and nice to get two points."

Anton Forsberg was a big reason the Blackhawks even recorded those two points. The 25-year-old netminder stopped 34 of 36 shots and made a handful of big saves down the stretch.

"It was really nice to get a win for sure," Forsberg said. "I would love to have a lot more wins, but right now just gotta look forward and get as many wins as possible."

Added Quenneville: "I think it was good for him to win a game the way he did. Lot of shots were on the line, as we progressed, got deeper, hitting the point first was big for him and for us and then finding a way to get the extra one was a good win."